SALAAM Hassan just finished reading the trilogy with a teary eye. I must confess I don’t remember my getting you a contract in 1994, but I remember that your late father, one of the most humane persons I have met, tied our hands together. But most importantly, what your late mother did to us, friends of Dr Mamman, during our holidays. When we (my wife and I) first saw you on a hospital bed, we were painfully and mistakenly bidding you farewell, and neither of us slept; we put you in prayers at every opportunity during the tawaf. Our next visit was heartwarming, and alhamdulillah, our wives kept the conversation about your improvement. May Allah (SWT) restore you to good health.
Adamu Maina Waziri
Hearty congratulations, sir. You sure cheated death and missed it by the whiskers. Allah knew you hadn’t completed the mission he sent you to do for humanity.
With these cocktails and writing them with much aplomb, dexterity and uncanny correctness, you are now given an honorary ‘Doctor of Medicine’.
What you described is the typical standard in Saudi Arabia. I worked in Al Raith Gen Hospital, Jazan Region, between 2020 and 2022, and it was a nostalgic feeling of how we worked collaboratively to save lives there then. Sannu da zuwa, maigirima likita.
Dr Dele Foluso Afelumo
Allahumma ishfi mardhi abduK birahmatiKa Ya arhamurRahemeen
Abdulrahman Muhammad Aminu
BACK FROM THE GATE OF THE OTHER WORLD. Yayana. When I heard you were in the ICU (Kasim, your reporter, told me when I got worried) under life support, with your lungs struggling to hold on, my heart went quiet. I couldn’t be there at your bedside. I didn’t carry any part of the bill. But I carried your name in my thoughts, and I watched from afar as God and those great doctors and nurses fought for your life.
Today, you’re standing. You’re speaking. You’re writing. That’s not small. That’s mercy. That’s evidence that the story God started with you isn’t finished.
Your script “Back from the Gate of the other world” says it all. You walked to a place many don’t return from, and you came back with a voice stronger, clearer and heavier with truth. The same hands that publish other people’s stories now hold a testimony that will give others hope.
So, today, I’m not just celebrating your recovery. I’m thanking God for sparing you, for placing skilled hands around you in that hospital and for letting me still call you brother.
May your lungs never forget the air you fought for. May your pen never stop writing what only men who’ve seen both sides can write. And may we all learn from you that life is borrowed and it’s meant to be lived loudly. Welcome back. We’re not done with you yet.
Jummai Yakubu Tafida
What a great journey, full of experience, inspirations and lessons!
Wishing you and your caring children a healthier and blessed lifetime.
Welcome back, sir, Allah Ya kara lafiya.
Mukhtar Ali Mohammed
Alhamdulillah for your recovery. May Allah perfect your healing, sir.
Halima Bello
Masha Allah, may Allah grant you shifa.
Amina Lawan Bukar
“Indeed, Allah has tested your faith. May Allah make it an expiation for you, and there is wisdom in the way Allah brought you back.
I will use myself as an example. When you first sent me the money to start a business, I sat down and cried tears of joy, and it reminded me of my father, a man who never liked seeing me cry. But after his death, life became very difficult for us. We have nothing to say except gratitude to Allah. I never imagined that someone among my relatives would give me such a huge amount of money until that day.
Two weeks after I received the money, I started feeling unwell. I could not breathe properly. Whether it was a test or reality, there were many nights when I would suddenly feel my breath stop. I would wake up gasping, crying, and praying, saying, ‘Allah, I am an orphan, please have mercy on me.’ They told me to go for an ECG, which I was planning to do.
But Alhamdulillah, I have gotten much better now. The happiness of starting a business suddenly turned into struggling with my health. May Allah continue to give you more time in this world because of your good heart. He wants you to keep preparing good deeds so that He will raise your rank in Jannah, In sha Allah.”
Amina Abubakar Bege
It is really touching to read about your health challenges, but alhamdulillah for his mercies. I’ve asked about you severally and I was told you were away on medical leave. I had no idea it was this serious.
May Allah give you good health to continue the good work you are doing. Ma’assalam.
Arch. Abba Abubakar Sani
Gimba, the “fighter”, the “hero” who will always be in the realm of “Kois”. But why not? You have been blessed by good people all around you, you have touched many lives positively, especially distressed cancer patients and most importantly, your love for Ahlul Baitiɗɗahireen. Rest assured, you won’t go past those gates unprepared. You shall accomplish all you are destined for and then confidently and happily walk yourself through those gates like a king entering his kingdom.
Jibril Yakubu Jibril
This is spiritual. Dey their dey believe that life na just rice and beans. Life is spiritual. The experience Baba Gimba shared here is a reminder of how spiritual life is. It is not a hallucination as English people will want us to believe.
On two occasions, he has refused to give up. I strongly believe that was the turning point and how God rescued Baba.
This paragraph: I thought he was bluffing and wanted to call him out. I said, “Do it”. Before you could say kois, I imagined my one-eyed head in a box. I shouted, “I will do it”, and the “magician” brought me back to normal. Then he said what touched me, “Hassan, we want to help you, but you must also help us.” From then on, I resolved to help myself and thought of the saying, “no gain, no pain, left me laughing, though it was not a joke back then. But thank God, we can all laugh over it now.
To those who supported Baba financially and in prayers, God bless you. For me, Baba only reaped some of what he sowed in kindness. Just the way big and powerful people connect with him, he has remained connected to some of us who are way behind him in journalism.
Oluwasanjo Ahmed
Mashaa Allah, we remain grateful to Allah SWT for preserving your life for us. You have been removing a lot of us from ignorance through your write-ups. May Allah SWT continue to increase you in health and in wealth. Remain blessed, sir.
Abba Adamu Bauchi (Galajen Bauchi)
Affliction will never rise for the second time, Boss. You will live long to eat the fruit of your labour. Allah sa zakkan jiki ne. Allah kara maka lafiya da nisan kwana cikin koshin lafiya.
Margret Philip
MashaAllah. This is an excellent piece that beautifully narrates how you survived a health crisis that could have easily ended your life. I could not help but imagine what would have been the outcome if this unfortunate medical situation had happened to you in our dear country. Allah ya bada lafiya; Allah yasa kaffara ne, Amin.
Ambassador Rabiu Dagari
What you went through! Chai. How were you able to get all the facts you included in your write-ups that made them as interesting as if one were reading a work of fiction? You are really good at what you do! Thanks be to God for keeping you.
Professor Cecilia Eme
MashaaAllah! Alhamdulillah! This is indeed a story worth telling the world, as the lessons embedded in it cannot be overemphasised.
Incidentally, and to buttress more facts, the comments made by the Pakistani doctor, Dr Imdad, saying “Allah brought you back because of the good things you are doing to your people, we see all the things”, further attest to the fact that your story is indeed one-of-a-kind, and therefore needs to be heard and re-echoed to the whole world.
This is simply because people who stood for Truth, Justice, Equity and Fairness in their entire life don’t depart this world just like that. Their life to the people is as important as their life itself.
I pray for Almighty Allah to continue to grant you good health, strong Iman and the strength to finish all your assignments before departing this world. Amin.
Malam Auwal Kaduna
Gimba, the “fighter”, the “hero” who will always be in the realm of “Kois”. But why not? You have been blessed by good people all around you, you have touched many lives positively, especially distressed cancer patients and most importantly, your love for Ahlul Baitiɗɗahireen. Rest assured, you won’t go past those gates unprepared. You shall accomplish all you are destined for and then confidently and happily walk yourself through those gates like a king entering his kingdom.
Dr Jibrin Suleja
This story is touching. First, my special appreciation to your son. God bless him. That’s a son coming through when strength and courage were most needed. He did what loads of money and gifts cannot make up for. God bless him.
For the Saudi health officials, thanks to them. Adopting a Nigerian and calling him Habibi, a reminder that you are loved even in your critical condition, speaks about humanity beyond skin colour and whatever.
“Gimba the fighter” was possible because a junior Gimba pushed, health officials cared, while God rescued. Who knows if your kind heart was all God considered? Welcome back, Baba. I’m so happy to hear from you.
Oluwasanjo Ahmed
May God continue to protect you; you will live long, sir
Solomon Tengu
Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillahi Robbil Alamin, many things have crossed my mind since your silence, and I don’t know who or how to ask. Indeed, all power belongs to Allah. May Allah continue to strengthen you and grant you better health.
Abubakar Ibrahim Alfa
Your piece, “How I Returned from the Gate of the Other World (2)”, is deeply reflective and captivating. The way you blended personal experience, emotion, and philosophical insight keeps the reader engaged while provoking serious thought about life, fate, and human existence. Your storytelling style carries both depth and simplicity, making the message relatable and powerful at the same time. It is the kind of writing that lingers in the mind long after one finishes reading.
We thank Almighty Allah for granting you healing, strength, and the opportunity to continue inspiring lives through your pen. May He perfect your recovery, grant you lasting good health, renewed energy, and many more years of impactful living. We also sincerely appreciate everyone who stood by you with prayers, support, encouragement, and financial assistance toward your medical bills. May their kindness, compassion, and goodwill be richly rewarded, and may they never lack help in their own moments of need.
Yusuf Nasidi
Gimba The Fighter. We also will not forget you. God bless you.
Mohammed AlZaharani (a Nurse in Al Shifa Hospital).
May ALLAH continue to PROTECT you and grant you a HEALING that leaves no TRACE of SICKNESS Ameen Ya RABB.
Tawheed Yakubu
Alhamdu lilLah, I was so worried that I even dreamt of you, my dear brother.
Adama Balla (Shabiki)
Na karu sosai ta wannan rubutun, especially sunayen MCOs daka ambata. Allah Ya kara sauki, masu irin wannan cutar, suma Allah Ya yaye musu.
Zaharaddeen Iliyasu Usman
Ma shaa Allah, we remain grateful to Allah SWT for preserving your life for us. You have been removing a lot of us from ignorance through your write-ups. May Allah SWT continue to increase you in health and in wealth. Remain blessed Sir
Saleem Abba
Hassan, the great father. The Brave. The guy who depends on Allah. May Allah heal you completely. AMIN.
Salamatu Umaru Baaba
May God perfect his healing upon your life.
Okafor Vivian
Baba Allah Ya qara maka lapiya da nisan kwana. Sadik Allah Ya masa albarka, and he is kind to everyone he meets in this world.
Umar Garba Auta
Concluded.
- Dr Gimba, anipr, is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime. His syndicated column, The Arbiter, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Monday.